Valent anticipating Valor cotton label

Valent is so convinced the Environmental Protection Agency's approval for the use of Valor in cotton is imminent that the company has already begun its product launch campaign.

“We feel confident U.S. registration will be approved by the end of February or the first of March,” says John Pawlak, Valent product manager. “Brazil has used Valor since 1999, although it wasn't registered in that country until 2002, and the product gained a 40 percent share in the layby market in one year's time.”

A PPO inhibitor, Valor is an N-phenylphthalimide herbicide containing the active ingredient, flumioxazin.

Valor herbicide promises long-lasting, residual control of a broad-spectrum of troublesome weeds. It also speeds up the burndown activity of postemergence herbicides and gives growers the rotational flexibility they need for the next growing season.

To achieve the promised residual control, Valor requires a 0.25 inch of rainfall or irrigation for activation.

Pawlak says, “Valor keeps cotton fields clean with both contact and residual action. A non-volatile compound, it's very safe when used as directed. It's safe to the cotton plant, safe to the groundwater, safe to the environment, and safe to the consumer.”

Once approved by the EPA, Valor will be labeled for use as a preplant burndown, in-season using hooded or shielded sprayer, and a layby treatment.

Pawlak says the recommended rate for Valor is 2 ounces per acre per application or 6 ounces per acre per season. In the Mid-South, the 2-ounce rate may be needed to get the desired residual activity on problem weeds. The 2-ounce rate of Valor will cost “somewhat less than $9 per acre,” company officials say.

For postemergence weed control, Valor should be applied to cotton at least 18 inches in height, using a hooded or shielded sprayer, or at layby. It can be tankmixed with MSMA or glyphosate to achieve control of weeds such as sicklepod and yellow nutsedge.

The proposed label recommends an in-season application rate of 2 ounces per acre in combination with MSMA, or 1 to 2 ounces per acre in combination with glyphosate. “The 2-ounce rate adds residual control,” the company says.

Valor treatments also require the addition of an agronomically approved non-ionic surfactant containing at least 80 percent active ingredient. “The use of crop oil concentrates, methylated seed oils, organo-silicant surfactants or products containing these ingredients may result in severe crop injury and should not be used,” Valent says.

Other restrictions include a 30-day wait between applications, a preharvest interval of 60 days, and preplant intervals that range from 14 days to 60 days, depending on application rate and tillage system.

Under all application methods, Valor should be applied to actively growing weeds within the labeled height guidelines for each weed species. The product should not be applied to stressed weeds or stressed cotton or when rainfall is expected within the hour. Valor is most effective when applied under sunny conditions at temperatures above 65 degrees Fahrenheit, the company says.

In addition, Valent officials recommend adding a non-ionic surfactant and a drift control agent to Valor tankmixes. Crop oil concentrates should not be used. “Producers can lose control of the product safety offered with Valor with a crop oil concentrate,” Pawlak says.

Pawlak says the addition of Valor to the cotton herbicide market will give growers new preplant burndown options. “With Valor, cotton producers can get the cotton in the ground sooner and maximize yield potential. It will speed up postemergence weed control and provide effective residual control, with minimal crop rotation restrictions, low use rates, and low health and environmental risks,” he says.